November 17, 2015, TORTOLA, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS – The law firm of O'Neal Webster announces its expansion with the formation of OW Services, Ltd., a BVI-licensed trademark agent. The announcement comes on the heels of a major rewrite of BVI trademark law – the Trade Mark Act, 2013 – which became effective 1 September 2015, and that now requires all trademark applications to the BVI Trade Mark Registry be submitted only through a BVI-licensed trademark agent.

With over 1,000 trademarks under management for reputable clients in every continent as well as the Caribbean, O'Neal Webster has a solid track record as a leading BVI-based trademark administrator.

"OW Services Ltd. is authorized to address all BVI trademark services," says Vanessa King, O'Neal Webster Head Partner of Intellectual Property Law. "Through the agency, we will continue to offer a premium level of service and responsiveness that O'Neal Webster trademark clients are accustomed to receiving – from initial filings, renewals, and assignment recordings, to change of ownership, license agreements, change of address, oppositions and infringement, and other trademark matters involved in mergers and acquisitions."

Feroza Kartick, certified paralegal with over 15 years BVI-experience and a specialty certification in intellectual property, explains, "O'Neal Webster continues to monitor and deploy global best practices in intellectual property registration and management for the benefit of our clients. Together with OW Services Ltd., we are well prepared to meet the demands of the global stage. As a member of the International Trademark Association's Leadership Committee and having recently attended the Intellectual Property Owners Association Annual Meeting in Chicago, I welcome the modernization of the Act's legislative framework, which keeps pace with established best practice standards and current developments."

Ms. Kartick adds that among the benefits of the new Act are certainty by way of registration of service marks, clarity, priority, filing of applications under the NICE Classification System, and electronic filing.